BY ANTONIO MUÑOZ DE MESA
Lola DeVillers and Stuart Champeau in English language premiere, November 2014.
Photo by Tina Gohr, courtesy of The Door County Advocate
Policy (La visita)
A priest, who is in charge of a Catholic school and summer camp, reviews his insurance policy with a woman agent whose son attends the school. In their episodic cat-and-mouse game, carried out over a period of weeks, the priest wants to add two new clauses to the policy: confidentiality and a definition of sexual abuse of children as a work-place accident. The action of Muñoz de Mesa’s play takes place in Spain, but the insurance clause is based on a real lawsuit from the Netherlands in which the insurance company lost its case and was required to pay the victims’ families. The several scenes end with surprises and contain moments of humor while dealing seriously with an international problem. The priest proclaims that he and the agent are engaged in a game where winning is the only thing. That game is a conflict between his love of money and her sense of morality.
1 man:
1 woman
May be limited to single, minimalist set of priest's study
Spanish premiere: April 2013, Teatro Arenal, Madrid, directed by the author
English translation premiere by Rogue Theater, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, November 2014. Revival, Sturgeon Bay and Ephraim, September 2015. Directed by Henry C. Timm. Revival: Sturgeon Bay and ephraim, September 2015. Published The Mercurian 5.3 (Spring 2015): 148-98. On-line theatrical translation journal.